Alright Coaches, listen up! Fall is here, football has started and I know from experience that basketball coaches across the country can’t stop thinking about the basketball season that is right around the corner. As coaches are sketching out ideas, sets, and plays on yellow legal pads, I absolutely must tell you the 4 reasons…

First in a series on Cognitive Biases and how they can impact our decision making as coaches. Simply put, Cognitive Biases are thinking errors. They are flaws in judgement that everyone is susceptible to. Marketers, salesmen, the media and politicians depend on our unawareness of these biases to sell their products, services and messages. We…

Developing a strong, positive and professional relationship with your athletic director and athletic department is a vital component to ensuring that you can coach effectively and successfully at your school – hopefully, for a long time to come. Whether you are a full-time, part-time or volunteer coach, you are most likely, reporting to a school’s…

Dr. Dish is extremely excited to drop another great workout that incorporates shooting off the dribble, ball-handling and also competitive shooting. It’s very important to make sure that you’re training smart and game-like when you’re practicing because it will properly prepare you for when it truly matters. It’s great to get in the gym and workout…

Using a possession chart for tracking in-game flow can offer basketball coaches valuable and instantaneous feedback. One handy tool to use for in-game tracking is this downloadable possession chart template. This chart is used for tracking game flow and can give you valuable real time info such as points per possession (PPP). Tips for using the…

This summer I was asked by our high school’s girls’ basketball coach to referee some summer scrimmage games they were playing against a couple other schools. While I have done my share of refereeing scrimmages, intramural games, and youth camp games, I am not an official. I am a coach. I have coached for 30+…

This is part 2 of a 4 part series on X’s & O’s Play-call Terminology. Read Part 1 – Formations HERE. Terminology – Cuts Hawk vs UCLA Hawk and UCLA cuts can be hard to decipher the difference in live time, since they basically are both a UCLA cut. The only difference is Hawk begins…

This transition shooting drill using Dr. Dish is a great drill to work on shooting 3’s out of transition as well as inside – out 3 point shots for a trailing player. Together with Dr. Dish, we’ve created The Dr. Dish Shooting Drill Book, which includes 30 drills ready to implement with your team today! The playbook includes…

Playing youth sports is one of the most memorable and exciting experiences a student gets to enjoy during childhood. Youth sports can help build relationships with friends, develop a sense of self- confidence and encouragement, and acquire and learn important life lessons from competition and play. With all of the joys that come with participation…

Using splits and rip cuts can be an effective way to exploit the post defense teaching points of Pack Line man-to-man defenses. Pack Line defenses treat entries into the post box (see diagram below) as a defensive disaster. The immediate response is to get the ball out of the post. They accomplish this using two…

I often get asked why I call a play a certain name, or how do I know which plays are called and actions are called. The answer is quite simple: I make them up. I have my own terminology that I base on which team ran a certain action, or by observing what other coaches…